Following the announcement by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde R.G. Mugabe, to traditional chiefs gathered at the Great Zimbabwe Monuments in 2004 that the Government of Zimbabwe wished to have an institution of higher learning established close to the national shrine, the Masvingo State University (MASU) was given the task of planning for the proposed Great Zimbabwe University (GZU).

As part of the process of the transformation of the university, an international conference was held in 2006 on the theme “Reclaiming National and Cultural Heritage in Higher Education: Situating Culture, the Humanities, and Creative Arts in the Local Contexts”. The conference attracted both international and national scholars in areas such as humanities, culture and creative arts. The aim was to tap on the expertise and experience of these scholars and come up with an expanded vision of the new university that would transcend the artistic dimension of culture in the Masvingo State University concept paper and include those areas of study that were in accord with the symbolism of the Great Zimbabwe Monuments.

The government requested the Church that ran the collapsed university to cede its name to Masvingo State University which was amicably done. The transformation was in keeping with the University’s pursuit of being the centre of excellence in creative arts and culture. By adopting the name Great Zimbabwe, the University realized the symbolism that the great monuments represent in areas as statecraft, trade, war studies, art, commerce and trade, history, archeology and architecture.

In July 2007, the transition from Masvingo State University to Great Zimbabwe University started in earnest with the passing of the Masvingo State University Amendment Act (2007) in Parliament. The passing of the Masvingo State University Amendment Act (2007) paved the way for the renaming of Masvingo State University to Great Zimbabwe University. The transition process got further impetus on August 2 2007 when His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Robert Gabriel Mugabe was installed as the Great Zimbabwe University’s founding Chancellor and Professor Obert Maravanyika was installed as the University’s first Vice Chancellor.

In spite of current economic challenges, the University has started to implement suggestions arising out of the 2006 International Conference. Studies in TsiVenda and Shangani/XiTsonga have already started while preparations for a Centre for Heritage Studies are advanced.